< Previoussolutions Customer Engagement Technology KIOSK Kiosk Solutions reaches an audience of 15,000 decision makers on a bi-monthly basis right throughout the UK. These 15,000 individuals are comprised of Customer Service Directors, Project Managers, CIOs , CTO’s, FD’s and many more besides. This unique readership presents you with a unique opportunity to reach an audience that is not available through any other media. Independent Kiosk Solutions is an independent publication, aiming to offer an objective view of the industry. Articles may present newsworthy acts and/ or opinions of named companies, but all measures are taken to ensure that articles within Kiosk Solutions report the objective facts without bias. Editorial We welcome contributions and submissions of news, features, thought leadership posts and interviews from companies and individuals regarding the kiosk and digital signage industry. These can be sent to the editor; Laura Vallis at editor.kiosk@abacus-comms.co.uk. All editorial that we receive from third parties is subject to the editor-in-chief's ultimate approval, and submission of an article is no guarantee of publication. In order to ensure that all articles meet the editorial policy, we reserve the right to edit the whole or part of any material selected for publication. You can find our editorial policy on our website: www.kiosksolutionsmagazine.com/guidelines. Advertising If you would like to discuss one of our advertising or advertorial packages please contact Lloyd at lloyd.vella@abacus-comms.co.uk 30 KIOSK solutions30 KIOSK solutionsKIOSK solutions 31KIOSK solutions 31in-store transformation 32 KIOSK solutions32 KIOSK solutionsNow should be a great time in US retail. Consumer confidence has finally returned to pre-recession levels. Americans have seen their per capita, constant-dollar disposable income rise more than 20 percent between the beginning of 2014 and early 2019. Yet despite the buoyant economic environment, many brick-and-mortar stores are struggling. In part, that’s due to the rise of e-commerce, which since 2016 has accounted for more than 40 percent of US retail sales growth. In McKinsey & Company’s recent consumer survey, 82 percent of US shoppers reported spending money online in the previous three months, and the same percentage used their smartphones to make purchasing decisions. Not surprisingly, younger shoppers favour e-shopping even more: 42 percent of millennials say they prefer the online retail experience and avoid stores altogether when they can. Meanwhile, the strong economy and record-low unemployment are increasing wage pressure and store operating costs. In the last three years, more than 45 US retail chains have gone bankrupt. Retail stores have a real future Rumours of the physical store’s death are exaggerated. Even by 2023, e-commerce is forecast to account for only 21 percent of total retail sales and just 5 percent of grocery sales. And with Amazon and other major internet players developing their own brick-and-mortar networks, it is becoming increasingly clear that the future of retail belongs to companies that can offer a true omnichannel experience. Retailers are already wrestling with omnichannel’s demands on their supply chains and back-office operations. Now they need to think about how they use emerging technologies and rich, granular data on customers to transform the in-store experience. The rewards for those that get this right will be significant: 83 percent of customers say they want their shopping experience to be personalised in some way, and our research suggests that effective personalisation can increase store revenues by 20 to 30 percent. Several new technologies have reached a tipping point and are set to spill over onto the retail floor. Machine learning and big-data analytics techniques are ready to crunch the vast quantities of customer data that retailers already accumulate. Robots Bricks and mortar retail stores need to up their game. Technology could give them a significant boost. By Praveen Adhi, Tiffany Burns, Andrew Davis, Shruti Lal and Bill Mutell. Global Editorial Services McKinsey & Company. The in-store transformation it is becoming increasingly clear that the future of retail belongs to companies that can offer a true omnichannel experience in-store transformation KIOSK solutions 33KIOSK solutions 33and automation systems are moving out of factories and into warehouses and distribution centres. The Internet of Things allows products to be tracked across continents, or on shelves with millimetre precision. Now is a great time for retailers to embrace that challenge of bringing technology and data together in the offline world. The evolving consumer journey How will these technologies reshape the shopping experience? To find out, let’s follow one consumer on a journey through the store of the future. As Jonathan arrives at his favorite grocery retailer, the store recognises him, its systems alerted to his presence either as his smartphone connects to the in-store Wi-Fi, or perhaps by a facial-recognition technology that he has signed up to use. Once Jonathan agrees to log in, the store accesses the shopping list he’s been building at home by scanning items with his phone as he uses them up. As he walks the aisles, smart shelf displays illuminate to show the location of those items, while also highlighting tailored offers, complementary items, and regular purchases that didn’t make it onto the list. Jonathan is tempted by a new, personalised promotion that pops up on his phone as he approaches the prepared-meals aisle. But because he prefers organic foods, he wonders about the product’s ingredients. As he scans the package with his smartphone, an augmented-reality display reveals the origin of its contents, along with its nutrition information and even its carbon footprint. His bag full, Jonathan leaves the store. There was no need to check out: RFID scanners and machine vision systems have already identified every item he packed, and his credit card, already on file in the retailer’s systems, is debited as he passes through the doors. The evolving associate and manager journeys Technology won’t just re-shape the customer experience in tomorrow’s stores: working in retail will look very different too. David works part time in the store’s fresh-foods department, fitting in shifts around his studies and family life. He Technology won't just re-shape the customer experience: working in retail will also look different in-store transformation 34 KIOSK solutions34 KIOSK solutionsnegotiates his schedule each week using a mobile app. The store runs a bidding system, and staff can earn a premium by volunteering for busy or hard-to-fill shifts. The technology also makes it easy for David to trade shifts when he has a conflict. A transformation in store The store rarely struggles to get the staff it needs. David loves working there because he is passionate and knowledgeable about food. His duties include some manual tasks including stocking or picking for online orders, but the work is light. Sensors on and above the shelves monitor the status of stock, a machine- learning system plans the replenishment schedule, and items are delivered or taken away by robot carts that glide silently and safely through the store. David spends most of his time interacting with customers, offering advice on new products and recipes, or answering their questions. He has a hand-held terminal that he can use to call up information on each customer’s preferences and shopping habits. If a customer can’t find something on the shelves, he can pinpoint the location and real-time stock level of every item at a glance, or suggest different items based on that customer’s shopping habits. Meanwhile, Rebecca, the store manager, is thinking about plans for a big new promotion that starts next week. The project will involve significant changes to the range of items on display including setting new fixturing in the produce area. But that’s nothing new: the store is always adapting its stock and presentation and Rebecca spends most of her time working with colleagues to improve and fine tune its offerings. It helps that many previously time-consuming tasks, like staff scheduling and reporting, are now handled automatically by artificial- intelligence tools. Her phone alerts her when a situation needs real attention in real time, such as a promotion that’s not selling as well as in other stores. That means she can focus her efforts on performance and service improvements, aided by the store’s sophisticated performance-analysis systems. David and Rebecca already have a pretty good idea how the new promotional set will work because they’ve tried it out in virtual reality, using an interactive digital twin of the store. Conversations with customers have given them an idea for tweaking the offer’s presentation, and they are discussing the possible changes now to boost sales, rather than rigidly adhering to a formula devised handed down from above. The financial impact of in-store technology There’s another area that is set to look very different in the store of the future, and that’s the store’s P&L sheet. And while our example has been taken from grocery retail, this impact will be noticeable across the sector. Personalised offerings and optimised assortments will likely raise sales and cut waste, while opportunities to upsell and cross-sell, either automatically or in person, can increase basket sizes and conversion rates. The profile of the workforce will change as well: skilled and knowledgeable staff members will expect to earn more, pushing hourly rates up by about 20 percent. Total wages are likely to fall however, as automation and technology help shift the balance of labour spend toward value-added and customer-facing work. Overall, we believe the Store of the Future is likely to achieve EBIT margins twice those of today, with the added benefits of improved customer experience, better employee engagement, and an easier-to- run store. The technology necessary to achieve this transformed P&L is available now, and we calculate that it is ROI-positive. Are you ready? The store of the future is still in its infancy, but every one of the technologies described above exists today and as a commercial product, not just a prototype or proof-of-concept. Retail leaders should act now to prepare their organisations. n Praveen Adhi is a partner in McKinsey’s Chicago office, where Andrew Davis and Shruti Lal are associate partners; Tiffany Burns is a partner in the Atlanta office, where Bill Mutell is an associate partner. in-store transformation KIOSK solutions 35KIOSK solutions 35Queue management is an integral part of improving the customer experience. The ones who succeed can reduce costs, increase sales and enhance brand reputation. But to understand what queue management is, it's essential first to define what waiting is. What is waiting? Most people believe that waiting is the time from when the customer first decides to get something until they have it. From the customer's perspective, there is also a perceived time between the missing and the taking. If you intend to improve the customer experience, the customer's perception is the most critical aspect to consider. Therefore, when you put waiting into a business context, shouldn’t the definition of what waiting is be the customer’s experience between the moment they first decide to get something until they have it. What is queue management? Based on the above definition of waiting therefore the definition of queue management should be the process of managing a customer’s waiting experience. How to reduce the waiting time? Queue management is not about trying to eliminate waiting times. Any company that strives to offer instant service is likely to incur substantial costs, such as having too many employees on hand. Queue management is all about improving the customer's waiting experience. Achieving this contributes to flexibility in the staffing model, which in turn provides efficient and cost-effective customer service. Therefore, if you intend to improve the customers waiting experience, you should not start asking "how to reduce waiting time?", but rather "how to improve the waiting experience?". How to improve the waiting experience? If the customer’s perceived waiting time feels shorter than the actual time, the Many argue that a queue management system (QMS) is the process of managing a customer's waiting time. But what does that actually mean? By Anna Oom, Global Content Marketing Manager of Qmatic What Does Queue Management Actually Mean? queue management 36 KIOSK solutions36 KIOSK solutionscustomers are more likely to walk away satisfied. There are many things a company can do to improve the waiting experience. n Provide an active waiting experience This can be done by installing media solutions in the waiting area, to engage and entertain the customer. n Keep the customer informed Remove the mystery and worry from the wait. Use monitors to provide your customer information, such as where to go, where to wait and waiting times. n Achieve an optimal waiting time When customers spend time waiting, they are more likely to explore y our offering. Aim for an optimal waiting time, as it will both enhance the customer experience and increase sales. Queue management systems Remembering that queuing is just one part of the customer's entire journey, to improve the overall customer experience the experience needs to be enhanced at each point of contact. n Pre-service An essential part of managing customer visits is by the appointment system. By offering customers the facility to book their visit in advance, you have control over the workload and can optimise your resource planning accordingly. n Check-in Whether a host, receptionist or self service kiosk welcomes the customer, they will all be connected to the queue management system. n Waiting During the waiting time the customer can be informed and entertained via visual screens and/or audio connected to the queue management system. Monitors can also be used to advertise complementary services and products. n Serving A QMS provides staff with the necessary information to optimise the service process. They are informed about who the customer is and what they require and additional information such as how long they have waited. n Post-service The queue management system can provide a facility for your customers to share their feedback via surveys after their visit. Data reporting and analytics allow you to use this feedback to gain insights and improve the customer journey. The benefits of a queue management system are significant. Benefits In the short term it can increase sales and productivity by up to 30%. It can also decrease costs by up to 30% by ensuring that the right customer is at the right place, at the right time and greeted by the most appropriate staff member. n es Queue Actually Mean? queue management KIOSK solutions 37KIOSK solutions 37Next >